Tough Decisions Loom, And Matt Ulmer Is Glad For That

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

Tough Decisions Loom, And Matt Ulmer Is Glad For That

08/17/18 | Women's Volleyball, @GoDucksMoseley

Oregon volleyball coach Matt Ulmer has some tough decisions to make about his lineup and potential redshirts for this season, a good problem to have after injuries left the Ducks desperately thin at times last fall.

By: Rob Moseley

Recently, Oregon volleyball coach Matt Ulmer was sorting through his various lineup options for the upcoming season, and he consulted with his star junior middle blocker, Ronika Stone.

If Stone were the coach, Ulmer asked, what starting lineup would she field?

"I was like, 'Uh, no clue,' " Stone recalled. "Good luck!"

A year removed from having his lineup dictated by a small roster and the ravages of injury, Oregon's second-year head coach faces a completely different set of challenges entering the 2018 season, which begins next weekend at the VERT Challenge in Lincoln, Neb. At times in 2017, Ulmer had as few as eight available players; he'll have nearly twice that many to play in the Ducks' final preseason scrimmage, the annual alumni match on Saturday in Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m.

Not only did the Ducks return Stone and a four-player senior class led by do-everything all-America candidate Lindsey Vander Weide, they now have electric sophomore Brooke Van Sickle back after injuries derailed her 2017 season, and they also added a stellar transfer, 6-foot-4 junior Taylor Borup. And on top of all that, Ulmer signed the nation's No. 4 recruiting class, a five-player group of which as many as four could potentially redshirt given the embarrassment of riches on the roster.

"The competition has been a good thing for everybody," Ulmer said. "It's raising everybody's game. There's a lot of people wanting to see the court, and they're showing it."

In the depths of Oregon's injury issues last fall, Ulmer had to play both Vander Weide and – for the first time in her career – Taylor Agost all the way around the rotation. The 2018 roster will have players deep on the bench or even redshirting who, had they been available in 2017, would have been key reserves or even starters.

"You were just kind of in a panic mode, because that's what we've got, so we have to figure it out," Ulmer said. "We don't have that. And even if there was an injury, we have two other people that can go in. We can just take care of each other better."

That's music to the ears of veterans like Stone, one of two healthy middles along with Sumeet Gill at times last season, and Vander Weide, who can now acknowledge that she played much of 2017 through a painful knee injury that sapped her of the form she displayed in being named all-American as a sophomore in 2016.

An injured player in 2018 won't face the same internal pressure to push through for the sake of her teammates. And the wear and tear of the season won't be exacerbated by the need for regulars to take all the practice reps.

"Last year me and Sumeet were the only ones in the middle, and going through drills, we were exhausted," Stone said. "Now we have four middles, or five with Lauren (Page)."

"If someone's having an off day or someone's arm is sore," Vander Weide added, "it's nice to know we have other people who can come in and do the same thing."

Beginning next week at the VERT Challenge, Ulmer will have to answer that tough question he recently posed to Stone – which six players will take the court to open the first match, against Texas on Aug. 24. But Ulmer has tough decisions to make before that, too, namely which and how many of the talented true freshmen to redshirt.

Brooke Nuneviller is in the mix for a starting role as a hitter or in the back row. But middles Karson Bacon and Chandlar Duff, setter Kylie Robinson and libero Camryn Tastad all could be in consideration for redshirt seasons.

That makes Saturday's alumni match a key evaluation point for Ulmer and his staff. Paired with and against alumni including Agost, Maggie Scott, Lauren Plum and Rachel Morris, the freshmen can participate in the scrimmage without threatening their ability to redshirt.

"At 22 (years old), they should be a lot better than at 18, right?" Ulmer asked rhetorically. "I think the ones that could redshirt are gonna be possible all-Americans in their fifth year, and that would be nice to have. How nice would it be to have Taylor Agost this year? She didn't play a whole lot her freshman year."

Setter August Raskie, a senior this fall, participated in about half her freshman season of 2015.

"I would say if you have the opportunity to redshirt, take it," Raskie said. "Especially with Matt Ulmer and (his staff), they're such great coaches. What I wouldn't give to have one more year with them."

Instead, Raskie will be Oregon's senior setter this fall. Like a quarterback blessed with a deep receiving corps, Raskie will be tasked with distributing the ball around for the Ducks to take best advantage of all their weapons.

That will be a challenge, but probably not one as tough as those facing Ulmer, about how to best utilize his freshman class this year, and how to array the Ducks around the rotation once the regular season begins. That will make for a few agonizing decisions by the head coach, but a good problem to have after dealing with a short bench in 2017.

"It's a very different experience than last year," Ulmer said. "Before it was like, here's what we have, and we have to manage it because if we lose anybody, we don't have a lineup. This year it's like, OK, we just need them to grow, and prepare for when it is their time."